Brian DePalma or Dario Argento????

[Dr.Kelvinstein]

Whom does everyone like best? DePalma would not like this thread, because I once read an interview in which he called Argento a talentless hack and was angered by any comparison of the two; so, let's hope Brian is watching TV instead of surfing the net.

I would probably have to go with DePalma, simply because his camera theatrics are a little better planned and seem to have a bigger pay off. Plus, DePalma actually has people acting instead of just reading dialogue in a monotone (or sometimes overacting, which is even more annoying).

Still, I ain't sayin' nothin' bad about my boy Dario. He's still The Maesteo!

[mictlan]

I think that Argento is a better director... DePalma is good but has always been too derivative, specifically referencing other directors so much that... well, it just irritates me.
Sisters (great film) = Rope
Blow Out = Blow Up
Body Double = Rear Window
Untouchables = Potemkin

Plus he made Mission Impossible and a bunch of Bruce Springsteen videos. You can't live stuff like that down.

[avenger00soul]

Carlito's Way is better than all of Argento's combined films.

[Sam The Egg]

Scarface. Enough said. Yeah, it's a remake, it's still better.

[Elvis_Christ]

...I once read an interview in which he called Argento a talentless hack and was angered by any comparison of the two; so, let's hope Brian is watching TV instead of surfing the net.

That quote has made me lose a lot of respect for De Palma I hate celebrities bitching and fighting with each other its lame. Both are great directors and I love both of their movies but I would have to say Argento although both have dissapointed me equally at times with some truely terrible movies. I like Argento for the shear savagery of some of his work and his unerving soundtracks that companion them. I remember seeing Suspiria for the first time on the big screen that opening murder gave me a geniune shock and left me uneasy. The nightmarish dreamlike tone of alot of his films also draws me to his work but some people find this confusing but I find the disorientation adds to the suspense you really get to experience the characters confusion and fear. But thats just me :) Speaking of DePalma do you guys like Raising Cain? I think John Lithgow is great as a villian in it and it was a really well written quirky movie. What happened to Lithgow anyway he had some great roles as a villian then went and did that mindless bullshit sitcom 3rd Rock From the Sun and dull Hollywood vehicles?

[sleepaway]

DePalma every time. Dario has great camera work and I LOVE his set pieces I'm just not keen on his movies as a whole, they are great once and it may sound shallow but the dubbing annoys me, I prefer subtitles. His characters tend to be very flat too.

[Elvis_Christ]

I find DePalma's camerawork tacky alot of the time all the split screen stuff is just cheesey alot of the time he just seems to do off beat camera work for the sake it but that said when he's on fire he's amazing (Carrie, Dressed To Kill, Body Double.....)

[kpropain]

Depalma

[Leper Messiah]

Originally posted by mictlan
I think that Argento is a better director... DePalma is good but has always been too derivative, specifically referencing other directors so much that... well, it just irritates me.


I agree.

[Dreaming Girl]

I'm going with Argento. His plotworking is loose and usually full of holes, the acting is usually quite stiff... but then you have the elaborately set-up gory death scenes, great music, funky lighting, ect... Most of his movies end up falling into the beautiful but cheesy catagory - which I personally like. Don't get me wrong, I love "high quality" movies, but there are certain "style over substance" directors that hit me just right. Argento is one of them. Takashi Miike also springs to mind (although Audition was a good movie all around).

[damien]

ive seen suspiria and phantom of the opera and hated them both. is there a argento film that is any good????????????

[Elvis_Christ]

Originally posted by damien
ive seen suspiria and phantom of the opera and hated them both. is there a argento film that is any good????????????

Terror At The Opera's great not as confusing as some of his other films.

[noctuary]

I prefer Argento's films. His use of color and the camera is unmatched in horror film. De Palma has made a few great movies, but he has made some really bad stuff as well. I can't think of any Argento film that I would consider to be bad. Then again, I haven't seen The Card Player yet.

[damien]

Originally posted by damien
ive seen suspiria and phantom of the opera and hated them both. is there a argento film that is any good???????????? after viewing suspiria a second time and watching his other movies. i am now a huge fan of dario. i juts finished watching deep red it is a great piece of work. so my advice is if you didnt like it the first time please give it another chance.

[no mulier]

Originally posted by noctuary
I prefer Argento's films. His use of color and the camera is unmatched in horror film. De Palma has made a few great movies, but he has made some really bad stuff as well. I can't think of any Argento film that I would consider to be bad. Then again, I haven't seen The Card Player yet.

I think it mostly boils down to perspective. Dario Argento's Phenomena was what impressed me about his style. Then I saw several other films of his...

Bird with Crystal Plummage
Cat O'Nine Tails
Deep Red
Tenebrae
Suspiria
Sleepless
The Card Player

...and that just basically did it for me. As far as style goes, yes, Dario certainly has a flair for "bella figura" films which look vibrant with colour and the cinematography is sometimes breathtaking. But there's not much substance there to hold his movies upright for me.

I didn't even know much about Brian de Palma when I started watching his older films...

The Fury
Carrie
Dressed to Kill

...it's not a difficult choice. Brian de Palma would be a few notches over Argento any day.

[giallobelly]

Argento, no contest! Salut!

[Jester]

I say Dario Argento, simply because of my love for giallo. However, I still love Scarface to death.

[peeper]

Yeah--I have to pick Argento as well. Both are essentially Hitchcock obsessives -- but I feel like Argento takes Hitchcock as a starting point for his own dark obsessions, whereas De Palma just re-imagines Hitchcock movies. and at this point -- with Femme Fatale, he's even started referencing himself.